Economic Activity of the Saudi Aramco Company, as a Monopoly Essay

Economic Activity of the Saudi Aramco Company, as a Monopoly - Essay Example i Aramco is probably one of the largest monopolies of the world with significant influence over OPEC - the largest cartel of Oil producing countries to decide upon the production as well as pricing of oil products in the world. The total reserves of Saudi Aramco are over 250 billion barrels covering a total area of more than 249 trillion ft. (ArabianBusiness.com). The company is not only operating in the land area of the Saudi Arabia but it has also complete rights over the waters in Arabian Gulf and Red Sea. What is most important is the fact that despite being a monopoly, it is considered as one of the most efficient and finely run organizations in the world with revenues in billions of dollar. The next section will discuss what are some of the characteristics which categorize Saudi Aramco as one of the largest monopolies of the world. How Saudi Aramco is a Monopoly Single Seller One of the strongest characteristics of monopoly is the fact that it comprises of only one seller and whole industry comprises of only one player in the market. In monopoly, the single seller provides the whole supply in the market. Saudi Aramco is the only seller in Saudi Arabia which has the exclusive rights over the supply of oil and related products in local market as well as international market. Unique Product In economics, a unique product is one which does not have any close substitute for the products and services produced by the monopoly. The uniqueness of the product therefore not only provides no competition to the monopoly thus giving it an absolute control over the supply of particular good or service produced by the firm. Though there are substitutes of oil i.e. ethanol, biodiesel but they are still in the initial stages and the commercial production of such products are...This essay critically analyzes the activity of Saudi Aramco, one of the largest oil producing companies in the world, which is controlled by Saudi Government, besides discussing how government can block the emergence of private monopolies. Monopoly, in economics, is a market arrangement in which an individual or enterprise wield sufficient control over deciding the supply side of producing any good or service. Monopolist is the lone seller of a product or service as in monopoly; the entry into the market is restricted due to artificial as well as natural trade barriers. Governments, often, are behind the creation of monopolies in order to control the production as well as prices of certain products or services such as utilities and other products of strategic nature. Saudi Aramco is the largest oil companies in the world which produces, manufactures, markets oil and natural gas products all over the world. Being the largest, it is also considered as one of the strategic assets of Saudi Arabia as it works under the protection of Saudi Arabian government and is considered as a monopoly over the oil in Saudi Arabia. Besides operating as a single operator within country, it also operates the largest oil field in the world. Governments often do not allow private monopolies because of the fears that the social costs of allowing such monopolies may increase. Saudi Aramco is a private monopoly and it could increase the prices of oil to a level where it may no longer remain within the budget constraints of a consumer.

Vietnam war Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Vietnam war - Research Paper Example It occupied northwest section of South Vietnam which was considered demilitarized and guard point to Ho Chi Minh Trail. This means that Khe Sanh was targeted by General Giap who was the North Vietnam army leader as the United States marine also held it as of great importance in managing the war. The North Vietnam were close to victory against US when On February 25th, one patrol lost 9 dead, 25 wounded and 19 missing in action. President Johnson officially withdrew US troops on 5th July with significant challenge to convince the world that they had defeated the North Vietnam (Rottman and Duncan 72-4). There are critical factors that Historians need to capture when investigating this war. This is as a result of the conflicting historical findings from different researchers. The facts and figures presented on the number of casualties especially the United States marine shows significant inconsistency with what actually happened. This is because united States were making attempts to satisfy the conscience of the people that it won. On the other hand, it was evident that the overwhelming tactical pressure and sustained combat by the North Vietnam Army forced them to own up (Rottman and Duncan 112-7). It is therefore important for the historians to carry out in-depth investigation on the total personnel deployed by the United States and the number that were eliminated or maimed for life. This would help give a true picture of the loss United States incurred in the entirety of war. Economic consequences United States suffered as it sustained the war at its overall overhaul of foreign p olicy change should be the standpoint of how devastated it was after the War (Prados and Ray 75). The epitome of the bloody war requires narration of an observer or participant for which one young soldier as presented in The Things They Carried, by Tim OBrien gives a better

Primary education Essay Example for Free

Primary education Essay The World Education Forum in Dakar, Senegal approved a comprehensive vision of Education for All (EFA) to be achieved by 2015 based on the six goals. The six goals relate to the areas of early childhood care and education, universalising primary education, gender, youth and adolescents, adult education and quality of education. The main focus is on ‘reaching the unreached’ for ensuring complete coverage of education. With this background the Mid- Decade Assessment of Education for All was initiated to take stock of the progress made with respect to EFA Goals. Corresponding to this exercise, a comprehensive review of the progress made with respect to Education for All in India was conducted jointly by Government of India and the National University of Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA). The present work which is a sequel to the National Report consists of a series of thematic and state review papers. There are nine thematic review papers covering all the six goals including three additional papers on three other themes, namely, Teacher and Teacher Education, Management Strategies for EFA and Financing of EFA in India. These thematic review papers are further followed by a series of analytical papers covering progress of EFA in twenty seven states of India. State reviews attempt to present a quick picture of the current level of progress in each state of India assessing the magnitude of the task involved in achieving EFA goals and projecting a realistic time frame as well as strategies needed to reach the goals. Each thematic review as well as state-specific analytical review paper has been prepared by an established expert in the respective area/state in close collaboration with national and state governments. The review papers along with the National Report present a comprehensive and disaggregated picture of the progress made towards EFA goals in the country. The papers are coming out at a very opportune time when the Parliament is engaged in debating the legislation to make education for all children a Fundamental Right. While the thematic papers highlight state of development of education with respect to different goals of EFA, the State papers present the diversity of the situation across the country. The whole series  would serve as an invaluable independent documentation on various aspects of EFA ranging from early childhood care and education to universal elementary education and adult literacy programmes using authentic data sources accompanied by a review of relevant empirical research. The whole Project involving the National Report along with the series of thematic and state analytical review papers were conceived and executed by Prof. Education for All – Mid-Decade Assessment 3 Early Childhood Care and Education R. Govinda, NUEPA who led the entire exercise and would like to thank him profusely for his leadership. Dr. Mona Sedwal who as a part of the Project Team at NUEPA contributed immensely to the whole exercise also deserves appreciation. The Team immensely benefited by the advice given by the Technical Advisory Group set up under the Chairmanship of Professor A. K. Sharma for guiding the entire exercise. I would like to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to Prof. A. K. Sharma for his invaluable guidance. Finally, I would also like to acknowledge the generous financial support provided by UNICEF and UNESCO. Ved Prakash Vice Chancellor. National University of Educational Planning and Administration 4 iv Education for All – Mid-Decade Assessment Early Childhood Care and Education Editorial Note Indian Constitution directs the State to provide free and compulsory education for all children upto the age of 14. This goal has been pursued by the country for nearly six decades through successive development plans. The last two decades have witnessed significant improvements in children’s participation in schooling, accompanied by substantial increase in investments. The recent effort to raise resources for the sector through imposition of an education cess is major effort in that direction. Even though school education has traditionally remained a subject for action by State Governments, Government of India has, during the last two decades following the National Policy on Education – 1986, begun to play a leading role. This culminated in the launching of the national programme of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in 2001. Despite all these efforts, the final goal of providing quality education for all has eluded the country. Urgency of reaching the goal has been heightened in recent years due to several national and international developments, including commitments made under the Dakar Framework for Action for providing quality Education for All by 2015, which not only covers primary education but also focus on literacy goals, gender equality and quality concerns. The Dakar Framework of Action listed the following six specific goals to be achieved by all countries. 1. Expanding and improving comprehensive early childhood care and education, especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children. 2. Ensuring that by 2015 all children, particularly girls, children in difficult circumstances and those belonging to ethnic minorities, have access to and complete free and compulsory primary education of good quality. 3. Ensuring that the learning needs of all young people and adults are met through equitable access to appropriate learning and life skills programmes. 4. Achieving a 50 per cent improvement in levels of adult literary by 2015, especially for women, and equitable access to basic and continuing education for all adults. 5. Eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005, and achieving gender equality in education by 2015, with a focus on ensuring girls’ full and equal access to and achievement in basic education of good quality. 6. Improving every aspect of the quality of education, and ensuring their excellence so that recognized and measurable learning outcomes are achieved by all, especially in literacy, numeracy and essential life skills. The National Plan of Action for Education for All (2002) in India reflects this sense of urgency felt within the country by proposing to reach the targets much ahead of the international dateline. At the national level, the Constitutional Amendment in 2002 declaring education in the age group 6-14 which corresponds to the elementary education stage of schooling a fundamental right has brought the issue of universal elementary education (UEE) to the centre stage of public discourse. The country is in the process of drawing up the legislation for effective implementation of the right for Education for All – Mid-Decade Assessment 5 Early Childhood Care and Education translating the constitutional provision into reality. With the progress made in recent years the goal seems to be achievable by the international time frame of 2015. But this requires systematic assessment of the various goals the present exercise is one such effort. UNESCO has been bringing out annual review of the progress made in moving towards the goal of EFA through the Global Monitoring Report. These assessments do not reflect an encouraging picture of the Indian scene. This is an issue of serious concern for the national leadership as one sixth of the world population lives in India. With around 65% adult literacy rate, there are more around 350 million adult illiterates in the country. This should not be taken to imply that no efforts are being made to meet the challenge of EFA. Besides, the national averages do not fully reflect the diverse reality characterizing educational progress in India. In fact, it is paradoxical that while certain pockets of the country are emerging as the international hub for creating a knowledge society, certain other regions and sections of the population continue to be deprived of even basic education. It is clear that in pursuing EFA goals, not all states and regions of the country are in the same league. The variety is too wide to draw any generalization. While some states have made remarkable progress in education, practically eradicating illiteracy and achieving near universal participation of children in elementary education, several other states continue to remain far from the final goal. What is needed to progress faster in moving towards the 2015 EFA deadline in all parts of the country? This obviously demands an analytical exercise goal wise as well as statewise. It is with this objective in view that the present exercise was taken up to make an independent assessment of the progress achieved in different states and with respect to different EFA goals. The present series of papers constitute the outcome of such a comprehensive exercise carried out by independent experts, in collaboration with Central and State Governments. The main purpose of the exercise is to place before policy makers, planners and the civil society as a whole an analytical picture of the progress made towards EFA goals and the challenges ahead for reaching the goals in a realistic fashion. The exercise consisted of three parts. The first part consisted of presenting an overview of progress in the country with respect to six goals highlighted in the Dakar Declaration. This was largely based on the technical guidelines for assessment prepared by UNESCO. A national report entitled â€Å"Education for All Mid-Decade Assessment: Reaching the Unreached† has been prepared and published jointly by NUEPA and Government of India. The Second Part consists of a series of nine thematic review papers dealing with different dimensions of ‘Education for All’ keeping in view the Indian context and priorities. These include: (i) Early Childhood Care and Education; (ii) Universal Elementary Education; (iii) Adult Education; (iv) Towards Gender Equality in Education; (v) Education of Adolescents and Young Adults; (vi) Quality of Education; (vii) teacher and teacher education; (viii) Management Strategies for EFA and (ix) Financing of EFA. Each of these papers has been prepared by an expert or experts 6 vi Education for All – Mid-Decade Assessment Early Childhood Care and Education in the respective area. The papers were reviewed by another independent expert and revised based on the observations. The third part consists of analytical papers covering all states of India. Each thematic review as well as state-specific analytical review was prepared by an established expert in the respective area/state in close collaboration with national and state governments. The state level reviews are prepared on lines similar to what was followed for preparing the national review. Each of them deals with comprehensively on all six goals of EFA specified in the Dakar Declaration. The present paper by Venita Kaul and Deepa Sankar examines the situation with respect to Early Childhood Care and Education comprehensively dealing with school based pre-primary education programmes as well as the more widespread ICDS programme. In fact, this is an area of critical importance as increasing empirical evidence points to the value of providing pre school experience to children not only for improving their readiness for schooling but also as part of meeting their basic growth and development needs. Providing early childhood care and education is the first goal stated in the Dakar Framework for Action, and the National Plan of Action promises to take an integrated view of early childhood care and education. This elaborate exercise of assessing the progress in EFA should be viewed in the context of repeated assertions by the UNESCO Global Monitoring Report on EFA that Indian is at the risk of not making the global targets with respect to several EFA goals. The findings of the review clearly points out that the situation across the country is very diverse. While some States have registered fast progress on all fronts, some others continue to lag behind. Also in general, access to schooling has improved every where even though much remains to be done with respect to other goals of EFA. It is hoped that the various volumes brought out through the exercise would together present a realistic analysis and a disaggregated picture of the Education for All process and achievements in the country. R. Govinda Professor and Head Department of School and Non-formal Education National University of Educational Planning and Administration Education for All – Mid-Decade Assessment. vii 7 Early Childhood Care and Education Acknowledgements This comprehensive exercise of reviewing the progress of EFA has been done through active involvement and support of a large team of experts and officials from Government of India as well as various State Governments. The exercise was carried out under the constant guidance of the members of the Technical Advisory Group under the leadership of Professor A. K. Sharma. The task could not have been completed without the commitment and support of Professor Ved Prakash, Vice Chancellor, NUEPA. Special thanks are due to Smt. Anita Kaul, Joint Secretary, MHRD, Government of India who played a central role in conceiving and implementing the whole exercise. Financial support for the exercise came from UNICEF and UNESCO; in particular, thanks are due to Mr. Samphe Lhalungpa who took personal interest in ensuring that the Project is completed smoothly. We would like to record our appreciation for the technical support and cooperation given by the NUEPA Publication Unit and for printing and publishing the volumes. EFA Project Team National University of Educational Planning and Administration 8 Education for All – Mid-Decade Assessment. Early Childhood Care and Education Technical Advisory Group Professor A. K. Sharma Former Director NCERT Chairperson Professor Ved Prakash Vice Chancellor NUEPA Member Joint Secretary (EE) MHRD Member Professor R. Govinda Head Department of SNFE NUEPA Member Deputy Secretary MHRD Coordinator NUEPA Project Team Professor R. Govinda Head Department of SNFE NUEPA Project Director Dr. Mona Sedwal NUEPA Project Associate Fellow Education for All – Mid-Decade Assessment 9 Early Childhood Care and Education About the Authors ix Venita Kaul is Senior Education Specialist in World Bank. Prior to joining the Bank she was Professor and Head of Department of Preschool and Elementary Education at the NCERT. She has written extensively in the areas of Early Childhood Education and Early Primary education in the Indian context and has several books and papers to her credit. Deepa Sankar is an Education Economist with the South Asia Human Development Department of the World Bank. 10 Education for All – Mid-Decade Assessment Management of Elementary Education Contents Preface iii Editorial Note v Acknowledgements viii Technical Advisory Group ix About the Authors x Section I Introduction 1 Section II. Early Childhood Development (ECD) – The Indian Context 2 Section III ECCE –An Equity Issue 9 Section IV Providing for the Child in India Section V Coverage of ECCE Services 25 Section VI Public Spending on Children 30 Section VII Some Significant Issues and Concerns in ECCE 36 References 11 15 43 Education for All – Mid-Decade Assessment Early Childhood Care and Education SECTION I INTRODUCTION The first six to eight years of a child’s life last a lifetime!! Known as the early childhood stage, these years are considerably, and often irreversibly, reduced. This research finding places a very large percentage of children in  globally acknowledged to be the most critical years for life-long development, since the pace of development in these years is extremely rapid. Recent poverty contexts, particularly in the developing world, ‘at risk’, in terms of their life chances. â€Å"By the time poorer children in many countries reach school research in the field of neuroscience has provided convincing evidence that â€Å"experience-based brain development in the early years sets neurological and age, they are at a significant disadvantage in cognitive and social ability† (The World Bank, 2005b:132). This early childhood stage is also biological pathways that affect health,  learning and behaviour throughout life†. (Mustard, 2007:40) It is in these early years of life that critical periods are important as a foundation for inculcation of social and personal habits and values, which are known to last a lifetime. It follows logically that these located for development of several cognitive, social and psychomotor competencies, which significantly contribute to later success in life. If years are crucial and important for investing in to ensure an enabling environment for every child and thereby a sound foundation for life. This is not these critical periods are not supported by, or embedded in a stimulating and  enriching physical and psycho-social environment, the chances of the child’s only the right of every child, but will also impact in the long term, on the quality of human capital available to a country, like India, whose main asset in the brain developing to its full potential are years to come will be its ‘youth power’. Education for All – Mid-Decade Assessment 1 Early Childhood Care and Education SECTION II EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT (ECD) – THE INDIAN CONTEXT Our Cultural Heritage: Early Childhood Development (ECD) programs for children in the age group of prenatal to 6 years, derive their importance from the next. This  wealth of developmentally appropriate childcare practices is gradually becoming extinct, in the humdrum of more modern this rationale, and from the changing social, economic and demographic contexts over the last few decades that have often rendered homes ill-equipped provisions for children and changing social realities. to ensure optimal childcare. A look into India’s past cultural heritage indicates that traditionally, the early childhood years (from prenatal to five years) were are more specifically associated with changes in the family structure, from joint to nuclear, so that parenting, which was earlier a shared family  considered to lay the foundation for inculcation of basic values and social skills in children. It is believed that these values are imbibed from the responsibility, is now solely the responsibility of the parents; this responsibility is again often further delegated. While children from the family as the ‘sanskaras’ and the scriptures advocate an attitude of lalayat or indulgence, as the desirable mode of child rearing at this stage, as compared higher socio-economic strata are often left with paid surrogate care givers, in the lower socio-economic communities the responsibility of childcare gets to more disciplinary approach for the  older child! Much of the early care and education of the child was informal, within the family and largely through loaded on to the older sisters, thus keeping them often out of school and robbing them of both their childhood and basic education. In addition, the grandmothers’ caring practices, stories, lullabies and traditional infant games, handed down from one generation to growing urbanization and increase in maternal employment outside the home has further affected the possibilities of 2 Education for All – Mid-Decade Assessment In India, as elsewhere, these changes Early Childhood Care and Education  ensuring â€Å"quality informal early care and education’ for the young child within the home. It was this changing social context, over the years, which laid the however, the concept of early childhood care and education (integrating health, nutrition and education aspects) has been widely accepted. India has in this seeds for the introduction of the concept of organized Preschool Education /Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) in the country. context, been able to put together a fairly supportive policy framework and has launched some major initiatives for children for this stage of development, ECCE-The Beginning: The earliest  formal documentation of preschool/early childhood education, as an organized which are discussed later in the paper. As a result, there has been noticeable, though not adequate, progress over the last fifty years, in both public and private initiative in India, dates back to the latter half of the nineteenth century when Gijubhai Badheka and Tarabai Modak, among others, became the pioneers of provision for young children. this movement in the country. Influenced by Madame Montessori’s visit to India, they established preschool education centers in Gujarat. In 1946 Three important principles of Child Development, substantiated by  research, have steered the evolution of programs for young children from just Madame Montessori met Mahatma Gandhi, who asked her to ‘indianize’ her method to make preschool education available to a large majority of children. ‘preschool education’ to the concept of more integrated and holistic Early Childho od Development programs. These principles assert that: (i) A child’s That was the beginning of ‘pre basic education’ in the rural parts of the country, largely through voluntary effort. Till India’s independence in 1947, early experiences and outcomes will determine the extent to which s/he will gain from subsequent interventions,  since child development is a continuous voluntary agencies and private institutions primarily fulfilled the need for ECCE, particularly in the form of preschool education. The first and cumulative process. A recent study in US demonstrated that by the age of 3 years, gaps in learning as measured by vocabulary are already large among government initiative in this area was the setting up of a Central Social Welfare Board in 1953, which started a grant–in–aid scheme for voluntary children from different social groups (The World Bank, 2005b); (ii) A child’s cognitive learning is affected by his/her socio-economic status, through the  agencies. Over this half century, child’s health (malnutrition, iron and Education for All – Mid-Decade Assessment 3 Differentiating ECD, ECE and ECCE Early Childhood Care and Education micronutrient deficiency, and parasitic infections) and the quality of the home environment. Health, nutrition and education/ psycho-social development education has been one of its six components, in addition to health and nutrition. The nomenclature, Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) are all synergistically inter-related, and this makes a case for addressing all needs of children through a holistic approach; and (iii) The child’s  found its due place in the policy framework in India later in 1986 when an exclusive chapter of the National Policy on Education was devoted to it. development gains will be optimized and more sustainable, if the programs address not only the child, but the child’s overall context, including the ECCE was defined, in the policy in ways similar to ECD, as an integrated and holistic concept of care and education of children between 0-6 years from socially family. Consequently, Early Childhood Development (ECD) and/or ECCE as disadvantaged groups. This provision was seen as facilitating to lay the child’s foundation for life and also a support  service for girls and working mothers. understood by Indian professionals working with young children, refers to a holistic and integrated program of nutrition, health and early childhood The policy emphasized the joyful nature of ECCE, especially for the 3-6 years olds, and discouraged any formal instruction of the 3R’s at this early stage education which caters to children from prenatal to 6/8 years and which addresses the all round development of the child from a lifecycle perspective of education. In practice, however, ECCE programs for children have assumed various nomenclatures and definitions, depending on the priority a  (See Fig 1 for an Indian Conceptual Framework). While this nomenclature of ECD is relatively recent, India has the distinction of having conceptualized and particular program serves. These include Early Childhood Education (ECE) /preschool education programs which are focused only on preschool floated perhaps the world’s largest program for children, modeled on this definition, as early as in 1975. Known as the Integrated Child Development education for 3-6 years olds (e. g. prenurseries, nurseries, kindergartens, preparatory schools, pre primary etc). These do not have any health or Services (ICDS), this program targets  children, pregnant and lactating mothers and adolescent girls from a lifecycle perspective. Non-formal preschool nutrition component, are ‘stand –alones’ or part of primary schools and generally in the non-governmental or private sector. 4 Education for All – Mid-Decade Assessment Early Childhood Care and Education Figure 2. 1: An Indian Conceptual Framework for Integrated Child Development Determinants  ¦Maternal health, nutrition adequacy and quality of care of newborn  ¦Safe delivery, family and community support for the mother and baby  ¦Environmental hygiene, safe water and sanitation Prenatal to one month Outcomes  ¦ Healthy, responsive  newborn Indicators  ¦Mother not anemic or underweight  ¦Child weighs more than 2500 grams  ¦Child moves head side to side on being stimulated Determinants One month to three years Outcomes  ¦Freedom from intermittent diseases (diarrhea acute respiratory infection)  ¦Nutritional security  ¦Curiosity, sociability  ¦Confidence selfhelp and sensory motor skills Indicators  ¦Full immunization by end of year one  ¦Completion of all prophylaxis (e. g. vitamin A) by end of 3 years  ¦Toilet trained  ¦Ability to communicate clearly and confidently  ¦ Sociability and ability to stay away from family for a few hours  ¦Appropriate height and  weight for age  ¦ Age-appropriate gross motor and auditory-visual skills Three to six years Outcomes  ¦ Interest in learning school readiness skills (language, numeracy psychosocial skills)  ¦ Activeness, selfconfidence, awareness of environment  ¦ Freedom from intermittent diseases, nutritional security  ¦ Management of any identified disability Indicators  ¦Active participation in early childhood care and education activities.  ¦ Ability to narrate experience confidently  ¦Demonstration of curiosity  ¦Age-appropriate self-help social skills  ¦Age-appropriate height weight  ¦ Regular preschool attendance  ¦Nutrition adequacy, including  exclusive breast-feeding  ¦ Responsive complementary feeding, quality of mother/caregiver-child interaction  ¦Immunization, management of diarrhea and other illnesses  ¦Health and hygiene practices  ¦Sensory motor and language stimulation and opportunities for play and exploration  ¦ Cultural attitudes and stereotypes Determinants  ¦Quality early childhood care and education.  ¦Basic healthcare services including disability screening  ¦Nutrition adequacy and incidence of intermittent diseases  ¦Literacy level of parents, educational environment at home Education for All – Mid-Decade Assessment 5 Early Childhood Care and Education Determinants.  ¦ Early childhood care and education experience/ school readiness  ¦Access to schooling  ¦Nutritional adequacy  ¦Quality of school  ¦Socio-cultural factors – extent of inclusion (gender, tribe, caste, etc. )  ¦Early detection of learning disabilities  ¦Social norm, role models and supportive home environment  ¦Safe water and sanitation, incidence of infestation and infection affecting regular attendance  ¦Female teachers Six to eight years Outcomes  ¦Sociability, selfconfidence/ selfesteem  ¦Ability to read and write, with a continued interest in learning  ¦Freedom from anemia and intermittent diseases Indicators  ¦ Demonstration of  competencies for Class 2 by end of age 8  ¦Regular attendance  ¦No worm infestation or anemia Determinants  ¦Quality of school  ¦Socio-cultural factors – inclusion (gender, tribe, caste), social norm  ¦Health promoting school  ¦Early detection of learning disabilities  ¦Infestation and infection occurrence, nutritional levels, particularly in girls  ¦Supportive home environment, community Eight to twelve + years Outcomes  ¦Successful completion of primary school with appropriate literacy and numeracy skills  ¦Active learning capacity  ¦Good health, nutrition  ¦Positive self-image  ¦Coping and social skills Indicators  ¦Regular school attendance.  ¦Eagerness to learn  ¦Sociability, activeness  ¦Demonstration of competencies for Class 5 at end of age 11  ¦Motivation and confidence to continue education Source: World Bank, 2004, pp. 12. It is now being increasingly realized that the ECCE stage itself has within it more than two distinct sub-stages, each with the first sub-stage of prenatal to three years, the developmental priority is ensuring health and nutritional wellbeing its own developmental priorities (See Figure 2. 1). ECCE can thus be further classified into the sub-stages of (a) prenatal to two and a half to three years; of the mother and child, since this is the  vulnerable stage for growth faltering and is also critical for brain development. This stage requires more of home- (b) 3- 4 years and (c) 4 to 5/6 years. For targeted 6 Education for All – Mid-Decade Assessment parent counseling in nutrition Early Childhood Care and Education and health education and in ‘early psychosocial stimulation’. For the 3-4 years olds, the priority shifts to early learning and all round development include the more structured school readiness elements. Within this integrated framework, this paper focuses especially on the latter two sub- through a more organized center-based ECCE program, using the play way  method. For the 4-6 years olds, this program gets further expanded to stages within Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE), i. e. for the 3-6 years olds. Graph 2. 1 Child Development Index 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 CDI- 1993 CDI 1999 Kerala Gujarat HP Haryana Punjab Orissa UP MP Bihar 0 CDI 2006 Graph 2. 1 shows that although almost all states showed improvements in child development related parameters, the improvements varied. The states, which had already reached higher levels of child development, improved marginally, while states with very low base indicators improved faster – like Bihar and UP. However, Bihar, UP, Rajasthan and MP continue to be below the all India average figures. These states are the laggard states in terms of child development and need more focused approach to develop child related outcomes. For that, it is also important to address their provision needs, as well as the socio-economic barriers to improve child development. Education for All – Mid-Decade Assessment 7 Early Childhood Care and Education Graph 2. 2 Comparative difference in CDIs using immunization Vs malnutrition indicators (2004-06) 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10  4 indicator CDI Nagaland JK Arunachal Rajasthan Assam Manipur Bihar Uttarakhand MP Mizoram Tripura Sikkim Meghalaya Punjab All-India AP UP Orissa Delhi Chattisgarh Goa West Bengal Karnataka Gujarat Haryana Maharashtra Kerala Jharkhand TN HP 0 5 indicator CDI However, if malnutrition indicators are taken into consideration in the CDI instead of immunization, the profile in terms of absolute CDI values changes. Interestingly, this shift is more significant in the case of states which are at the higher end, for example, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala (Graph 2. 2). Possibly, with better governance, literacy levels etc, these states demonstrate higher CDI levels when education and immunization indicators are included since both and related to the quality of service delivery. However, when impact in terms of child development outcomes are included (e. g. , underweight and stunted children), the inter-state variations get narrowed down. With states like Tamil Nadu, which have a history of effective feeding programs, the deterioration in CDI values indicated in Graph 2. 2 may well raise the question â€Å"Is feeding enough to address malnutrition in children? 8 Education for All – Mid-Decade Assessment Early Childhood Care and Education SECTION III ECCE –AN EQUITY ISSUE ECCE is now emerging as a significant equity issue in the Indian context. largely an outcome of a rapid expansion of private facilities, particularly in the Despite significant expansion of the ICDS program from the eighth plan onwards, the recent NFHS-3 data shows that the status of children in the urban sector. On the other, children from the lower socio-economic strata, whose need is perhaps greater due to impoverish.

The Contemporary Issues In Hospitality Management

The Contemporary Issues In Hospitality Management Experiencing HRM issues in Hospitality: Whatever the choice of terminology or decisions on organisation, effective HRM and the successful implementation of personnel activities are essential ingredients for improved organisational performance. The smooth-running man or woman is an essential feature of any company and for some industries people are not just important but the key factor for successful performance. HR policies and practices have an important role in hospitality to play in facilitating the effective implementation of management processes. Hospitality Companies today face five critical business challenges: globalisation; profitability through growth; technology; intellectual capital; and change, change and more change. These challenges provide HR with an opportunity to play a leadership role in the development of new capabilities to meet the challenges. The five challenges present a new mandate for hospitality human resource management in order to help deliver organisational excellence in the following four way s:- It should become a partner with senior and line managers in strategy execution an expert in the way work is organised and executed to ensure costs are reduced and quality maintained a champion for employees, vigorously representing their concerns to senior management and working to increase employee contribution and commitment an agent of continuous transformation, shaping processes and a culture to improve an organisation 2.1 Training: One major area of the HRM function of particular relevance to the effective management and use of people is training and development. Staffs are a crucial, but expensive, resource in hospitality. In order to sustain economic and effective performance it is important to optimise the contribution of employees to the aims and goals of the organisation. Training is necessary to ensure an adequate supply of staff who are technically and socially competent, and capable of career advancement into specialist departments or management positions. There is, therefore, a continual need for the process of staff development, and training fulfils an important part of this process. Training should be viewed, therefore, as an integral part of the hospitality process. Because specially in hospitality industry new IT based training are getting famous irrespectively in hotels, airlines. Training benefits includes:- Improve performance which results in cost savings of HRM Improve productivity Improve quality of customer service Improve self esteem of employees Improve sense of job security Increase comrade and sense of team work among employees Increase higher morale among employees and Reduce employee turnover and absenteeism Reduce stress and tension of employees Reduce waste Reduce work conflict among employees In todays competitive business weather hospitality industry is facing new skill developing process in different way. Customers are now more concerned about quality service rather than just service. According to WTTC tourism hospitality industry supporting more than 258 million jobs worldwide and generating some 9.1% of global GDP. In 2008 UK Government  £112m fund for hospitality training reveals the importance of training. Travelodge welcome this fund from Government. Chrissie Herbert, director of HR at Travelodge, said: As we approach the 2012 Olympics we are in a skills race to ensure we have the number of people needed to match the demand. 2.2 Customer Care: After training customer care is the another big issue in hospitality industry now-a-days. It is important to remember that good customer care start with good staff care. Surveys reveals that people are happiest at their work when they feel valued and important, when they are involved in the business and feel knowledgeable about what is happening. In todays hospitality business customer care is the main concern where all businesses should focus on because customer expectations for quality are increasing, presenting the industry with a double edge sword; at the same time qualified labour is becoming harder to find and keep and this is a great challenge for HRM in any hospitality business. Thats why HRM in hospitality trying to get more effective result by training existing employees in several field in hospitality. Customers are demanding higher levels of service excellence. Linking this issue with seasonality, a common characterise of tourism enterprise , Baum and Hagen(1999,p130)wrote, the lack of sustained employment, which is characterise as seasonal operations, undermines the ability of operators to deliver quality, which the market place, increasingly, expects. Service remains key factor for hospitality but value for money is becoming increasingly important as recession looms, research has revealed in UK 2009 by Square Meal Restaurants Bars report, which surveyed more than 9,500 diners, found service remained a major gripe (44% of all complaints containing words such as over-priced, costly and poor value) for customers. 2.3 Stress in Hospitality: Work stress is now recognised as a major issue in the human resource management within the hospitality industry context. Service quality issues are beginning to assume major importance in the success of many operations. Interpersonal conflict and work stress responses associated with hospitality industry employee management conflict, together with approaches to service quality. In European Union countries, hospitality industry has been identified as one of those most stressful sector to work, with frequent contact with inebriated clients and customers. Exposure to violence and sexual harassment is sometimes viewed as being a regular occurrence and a part of the job in the sector. Stress factors in the hospitality industry include an intensive interface with customers; increasing customer demand for highly diversified and personalized services; tight requirements on timely delivery of services, especially in kitchens and restaurants; unclear roles in a customer-dominated environment; and lack of training for supervisors. These result in low control of employees over their work. The health status of workers in the hospitality industry is worse than that of the average population, especially concerning mental health. In hospitality there are different reasons for stress and they are: global competition, customer expectations and demand for highly diversified and personalized services, tight requirements on timely services, especially in kitchens and restaurants, unclear roles in a customer-dominated environment, and lack of training for supervisors, reducing in staff to reduce cost, lack of control over working situations, seasonal staff turnover etc. 2.4 Empowering the employees: Empowerment, formerly known as participative management, reduces employee turnover and increases customer satisfaction. High hospitality industry turnover is the result of poor employee selection, inadequate training and an over-abundant management staff. Empowering the staff makes them work better together as a team and leads them to provide a better quality of service. In a simple way, empowerment extend democratic approach from workforce which is very good for hospitality organisations because its not possible for hospitality managers to be everywhere every time, in those moment empowerment make employees more participative and delegate them towards job satisfaction. Empowerment was known as participative management, but the problem had always been that implementing the concept was much more difficult than talking about it. No one knew how to overcome this problem for the usual reasons that all concepts can fail that is, identifying the whos, whats, whens, wheres and hows of implementation. The hospitality industry today requires to examine the way to manage. Hospitality industry is plagued with turnover statistics that are way out of proportion and this situation has developed because of poor hiring practices, insufficient training and overstaffing in management ranks. Empowerment is a style, not an evolution. It is a philosophy that must originate from the top if it doesnt, it will fail. Empowerment flattens out the organizational chart naturally by eliminating the tiers of responsibility, replaces desire to establish accountability with results, allows hospitality industries to respond to the aspect of customers needs and complete satisfaction. HRM in hospitality industry must understand the economic benefits of employee empowerment. Employee empowerment makes each individual responsible for doing the job to the best of their ability which results in greater guest satisfaction, returning guests and lower employee turnover. Hiring the best person for the job and adequately training that individual will also lead to greater employee empowerment. Empowering management personnel requires altering the job so that management receives feedback on their management style from their staff as well as their supervisors. 2.5 Management Leadership in hospitality: Effective leadership is the number one factor that influences success in hospitality organization. Maintaining cultural identity, employment brand and employee satisfaction requires consistent and regular communication. Leadership skills include a strong focus on relationships, emotional intelligence, a track record of results and innovation, a focus on process and outcome, and the ability to give positive and constructive feedback. Also important is the ability to teach and coach others and provide recognition both formally and informally. Management and leadership style is a contemporary issues in todays hospitality business. There is a sentence Employees dont leave their jobs, they leave their managers. The reason for that is the style adopted by todays leaders are not always right and its a big issue. International Labour Organisation(ILO) said almost 600,000 employees a year leave hospitality managers in their droves, which leads hospitality industry average recruitment and initial training cost  £1,500, costs around  £886m as a whole. Labour turnover for the whole hospitality, leisure tourism and travel (HLTT) industry stands at 30%, although some employers within the hospitality industry alone report double or triple this figure. Yet, only 14% of employers feel their labour turnover is too high. HRM should be part of any pilot program to help leadership understand, anticipate and mitigate management problems in hospitality. When HRM has experience in participating in a virtual team, it lends credibility for HRM to fully participate and respond to problems as they arise. 3. Conclusion: It is known that, hospitality industry stands on employee performance. So, HRM department in hospitality now-a-days getting more and more challenge day by day because every business strategy of todays world more focused on service which is a crucial issue in hospitality field. HRM managers should emphasis on the need for professional approach and right leadership attitude to achieve goals and keep status. HRM in hospitality industry has grown with its impact and status because of huge number of hospitality industries increased globally. Only The British hospitality industry contribute  £46 billion to the UK economy and the core hospitality economy is estimated to directly contribute  £34 billion in tax revenue by creating 2.44 million jobs in the hospitality sector the 5th largest industry in the UK, and a further 1.2 million jobs are indirectly generated by hospitality which is around 8% of the total UK employment. This statistics proves that, the HRM has great responsibility to play a vital role in hospitality sector by adjusting with market needs and trends.

Repressed Personality and Sexual Subtleties in Robert Louis Stevenson D

Repressed Personality and Sexual Subtleties in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde The Tragedies of repression In the reference book Victorian Britain: An Encyclopedia Stevenson is noted for saying that "fiction should render the truths that make life significant" (760). We see this most closely in his Jekyll/Hyde experiment when Jekyll explains why he invented his infamous potion. Jekyll says: "I concealed my pleasures; and when I reached years of reflection...I stood already committed to a profound duplicity of life" (Stevenson, 42). Because of this feeling of being one thing in the public's eye, well respected and controlled, and another on his own, Hyde invents an outlet. This outlet becomes, at least symbolically, a representation of male hysteria, a psychological disorder stereotypically associated with women. Jekyll says "my two natures had memory in common" (48). Thus, Hyde is free to express his base and immoral self without conscience while Jekyll is voyeuristically allowed to watch without regret since the actions are not his own, but a different entities altogether. Jekyll is described crying like a woman behind closed doors because Hyde has become the dominant personality (Showalter, 114). Stevenson's narrative reflects some of the effects of socialization and their influence on the repression of certain forms of sexuality, specifically homosexuality, which we will explore a little later. Jekyll begins waking as Hyde, suggesting that when his social controls are weakest, Hyde is free to come out. The story dramatizes social norms, the search to deviate from them, and rid oneself of responsibility for one's actions that go against these norms. As Jekyll gets used to becoming Hyde, the socialized and repressed Je... ...nd abnormal for their feelings. This is quite different than facing explicitly one's repressed feelings or sexualilty, which the public often reacts violently against. Works Cited Showalter, Elaine."Dr. Jekyll's Closet." Sexual Anarchy: New York: Penguin Books,1990. 105-126. Stevenson, Robert Louis. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. New York: Dover Publishing, Inc., 1991. Waters, Chris. "Robert Louis Stevenson". Victorian Britain: An Encyclopedia. Sally Mitchell and Michael J. Herr. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc, 1988. 760-761. Swade. "Lesbian Tribal Chant History page". http://www.swade.net/swadepages/les_hist.htm Accessed 4/20/99. Ennis, Jane. "VICTORIA Digest - 27 Mar 1998 to 28 Mar 1998 ". Accessed 4/20/99. http://www.mailbase.ac.uk/lists/englit-victorian/1998-04/0003.html

People with Chronic Diseases :: Health, Diseases

There are many diseases in the world that affect patient’s life. WOH has mentioned that chronic conditions might lead to disability in the future which leads to spend a lot of money to treat patients (WHO, 2005). Chronic condition has been defined as â€Å"health problems that require ongoing management over a period of years or decades, and include: diabetes, heart disease, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary Disease (COPD), cancer, HIV/AIDS, depression, and physical disabilities. To control chronic diseases and prevent patients from getting worse, all health professional and patients should be aware about self management. Therefore, this assignment will explain that ‘Self-management is an important component of effective management of people with chronic conditions and implant current self management models in health care can help to improve the quality of outcomes for patients and health care system. Self management can be defined as â€Å"Involves (the person with the chronic disease) engaging in activities that protect and promote health, monitoring and managing of symptoms and signs of illness, managing the impacts of illness on functioning, emotions and interpersonal relationships and adhering to treatment regimes.† (flinders) The main goal of self management is to strength and increase patient’s confidence and aware about managing their health problems (self management toolkit 2011). Self-management of chronic conditions is should consider many factors which are Patients and their family and the health providers should be involved in the plan with consideration all the medical and psycho-social components of a condition in order to empowering the patient through proactive and adaptive strategies (W. Battersby, et al, 2003 p. 43). Self management toolkit showed that engage the patient and make him/her be involved in goals sitting is a good way to improve patie nts self management and increase the relationship between patients and the providers which may led to increase patient's confidence (self management toolkit 2011).Self management toolkit shows good communication strategies for improving self management in patients with chronic diseases which are engaging the patients, exploring importance ambivalence and collaborative action planning (self management toolkit 2011). In addition, W. Battersby, et al has mentioned that a comprehensive definition of self management is: Self-management should involve the patient who is working in partnership with their carers and health professionals (W. Battersby, et al, 2003 p. 43). Many studies showed that self management program can improve quality of life of patients with chronic diseases and improve the quality of health care organizations. People with Chronic Diseases :: Health, Diseases There are many diseases in the world that affect patient’s life. WOH has mentioned that chronic conditions might lead to disability in the future which leads to spend a lot of money to treat patients (WHO, 2005). Chronic condition has been defined as â€Å"health problems that require ongoing management over a period of years or decades, and include: diabetes, heart disease, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary Disease (COPD), cancer, HIV/AIDS, depression, and physical disabilities. To control chronic diseases and prevent patients from getting worse, all health professional and patients should be aware about self management. Therefore, this assignment will explain that ‘Self-management is an important component of effective management of people with chronic conditions and implant current self management models in health care can help to improve the quality of outcomes for patients and health care system. Self management can be defined as â€Å"Involves (the person with the chronic disease) engaging in activities that protect and promote health, monitoring and managing of symptoms and signs of illness, managing the impacts of illness on functioning, emotions and interpersonal relationships and adhering to treatment regimes.† (flinders) The main goal of self management is to strength and increase patient’s confidence and aware about managing their health problems (self management toolkit 2011). Self-management of chronic conditions is should consider many factors which are Patients and their family and the health providers should be involved in the plan with consideration all the medical and psycho-social components of a condition in order to empowering the patient through proactive and adaptive strategies (W. Battersby, et al, 2003 p. 43). Self management toolkit showed that engage the patient and make him/her be involved in goals sitting is a good way to improve patie nts self management and increase the relationship between patients and the providers which may led to increase patient's confidence (self management toolkit 2011).Self management toolkit shows good communication strategies for improving self management in patients with chronic diseases which are engaging the patients, exploring importance ambivalence and collaborative action planning (self management toolkit 2011). In addition, W. Battersby, et al has mentioned that a comprehensive definition of self management is: Self-management should involve the patient who is working in partnership with their carers and health professionals (W. Battersby, et al, 2003 p. 43). Many studies showed that self management program can improve quality of life of patients with chronic diseases and improve the quality of health care organizations.

Explain the Importance and Benefits of Assessment for Learning Essay

Assessment for learning is an essential part of a child’s education as it defines whether or not the objectives of teaching are being met, assessments affects decisions about grades, educational needs of children and in some cases funding. Assessment for learning is a significant way to raise a pupil’s academic achievement and is centred on the belief that in order for children to progress in school then they must understand the purpose of their learning, where they are in relation to this purpose and how they can achieve their goals. Assessments will help a pupil reflect on their own development which in turn will help them recognize and appreciate their own strengths as well as developing an insight into themselves as students. If a child is given the opportunity to discuss their learning either with a teacher or one of their peers then they will develop a deeper understanding of their learning which can build confidence and motivate them as students. Effective assessment will identify individual educational needs of all children as well as informing them about their specific performances and achievements, this will then allow teachers to utilise approaches that are personalised to the needs of a child. Assessment can be used not only to measure learning but also to promote learning by teaching children how to ask questions as well as answering them, by emphasising to a child that it is acceptable to ‘Have a go’ and that by giving the wrong answer it is still learning.